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With Three Jewish Potential
Candidates, Will Judaism Play a Role
in Mayoral Race?
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
W ith the 2023 Philadelphia
mayoral race on the hori-
zon, three seems to be
the magic number, as three Jewish
Philadelphians are heavily speculated
to be throwing their hats into the ring.

On Aug. 15, former councilman and
real estate tycoon Allan Domb resigned
from his city council position.

“I resigned from my city council seat,
so I could ethically, responsibly con-
sider a mayoral run,” Domb said.

Philadelphia has a run-to-resign pol-
icy in its city charter, meaning that an
early resignation from a government
employee could hint at a future bid for
public offi ce.

According to billypenn.com, Domb,
who served as councilman for seven
years, will embark on a “listening tour”
in various Philadelphia neighborhoods.

His focus is on safety.

“Th e city is in crisis right now, and
it’s a public safety crisis,” he said.

Th ough Domb’s next steps strongly
suggest an impending announcement
of candidacy, he’s not the only Jewish
leader who is speculated to run.

Philadelphia City Controller Rebecca
Rhynhart is also considering a run for
mayor. Th ough she ran unopposed for
the position in 2021, she continued to
fundraise, building up a “campaign
nest egg” according to the Philadelphia
Tribune. Rhynhart explained her desire to run
for mayor as an opportunity to address
the ineffi ciencies in city government.

“Government is supposed to work for
people, for all people,” she said. “Th at’s
what made me initially run for offi ce
for city controller back in 2017 aft er
working for the city for close to nine
years, and that’s what is also leading me
to consider a run for mayor now.”
Jeff Brown, owner of a dozen
Philadelphia ShopRite and Fresh
Grocer stories and president and CEO
of Brown’s Super Stores, is also spec-
ulated to run, as he does not hold a
public offi ce to resign from, and he
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City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart is
another Jewish politician considering a
run for mayor.

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Offi ce
of the City Controller
has made a political mark on the city
through his opposition to Mayor Jim
Kenney’s soda tax.

All three potential candidates have
been outspoken about their Jewish
identities: For Passover this year, Brown
partnered with the Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia’s Mitzvah Food
Program. Domb refl ected on his Jewish roots
as his reason for wanting to give
back to the city. He grew up in an
800-square-feet apartment that cost
$100 per month in rent.

“Because my mother complained
during Yom Kippur — for almost two
weeks we had no hot water ... we got
evicted a month later by a landlord
in Lower Merion,” Domb said. “He
evicted the three Jewish families in
the building because my mother com-
plained.” Rhynhart spoke about how her
Jewish values have impacted how she
serves as controller: “Th ere are cer-
tain Jewish values that are important
to me, such as empathy and fairness,



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https://tinyurl.com/mt5uptsk Questions can be directed to
VirtualSeminars@promedica.org Allan Domb resigned as city councilman on Aug. 15, as he prepares to explore
candidacy for mayor.

Courtesy of Marisa Nahem
which tie in to how strongly I believe
in making our city government work
for everyone.”
Th ough outspoken to a Jewish source
about their Jewish backgrounds, these
candidates will be less likely to talk
about their ethnic and religious back-
grounds if they choose to join the cam-
paign trail, political analysts predict.

Th ough Jews have historically played
a signifi cant role in Philadelphia union
eff orts and are generally associated
with commitment to public service,
Jews don’t make up enough of the lib-
eral majority in the city for the Jewish
candidates to rely on their voting bloc,
said Bill Rosenberg, a professor of
political science at Drexel University.

“Who was a Jew?” Rosenberg said.

“You have seen over time, for diff er-
ent reasons, that there are diff erent
defi nitions of Jews, Jewish households,
people that are religiously connected
to Judaism and people that are more
culturally or socially connected to
Judaism.” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was
cautious in bringing up his Jewish
heritage in his presidential campaign,
Rosenberg explained. He only explic-
itly talked about being Jewish toward
the end, but his wife wasn’t Jewish, and
he wasn’t raising his children in a tra-
ditionally observant way.

“Some people may think that maybe he
wasn’t Jewish enough,” Rosenberg said.

But more generally, people are stra-
tegic in engaging with identity politics
on the campaign trail, said Richardson
Dilworth, a Drexel professor who heads
its Department of Politics.

“Th ey’re politicians,” Dilworth said.

“Th ey have to win a majority of the vote.”
To make themselves more appeal-
ing to more demographics, the mayoral
candidates will talk to various LGBTQ
groups, race-based groups and unions
to appeal for their vote. Th ough their
Jewish backgrounds and values may lay
the foundation of who they are and why
they are running, they don’t want to cre-
ate too specifi c a narrative that a diverse
group of voters can’t relate to them.

Conversely, rather than ignoring
their identity altogether, candidates
will likely adapt their story, while
remaining truthful, to connect with
other groups of people. Th is doesn’t
just apply to Jewish candidates.

“Any politician who reaches the level
of being a serious mayoral contender is
really using their identity simply as a
tool to reach out to their constituents,”
Dilworth said. JE
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